My review of a schroeder 1210 4 ohm

This weekend I'm borrowing a schroeder 1210 4ohm from Lex P. THANKS LEX! so far I've played it next to a ampeg portabass 212 (4ohms) and tonight/tomorrow I'll play it in place of my (2) aguilar gs112s at church.

first, as seen in another thread, I was suprised that it weighed as much as it does (58 Lbs) according to my digital scale. I know "All prices and specifications are subject to change without prior notice." but I was hoping for lighter, louder, better tone all those things we bass players dream about...

Playing the cab next to the ampeg 212 portabass. The schroeder was deeper, punchier and more reveiling in the highs than the ampeg. The ampeg seemed to have a more even tone through the frequency range low to high. I did not play either VERY loud, but "store loud", I was over at "fishbulb"s place of work "jim Harm's: my music store". The schroeder did seem to have a low-mid bump or 'hollowness' or "twang" not terrible, but there. this might be good for some kinds of guitars and might also help with cut-through. we played with three guitars fender jazz 4 string, and two different lakeland 5 strings.

Again, the schroeder, was deeper especially on the 5 strings (I don't play 5) , but fishbulb was impressed with the low-end. also the schroeder had a less "directional" sound meaning it sounded better off-axis than the ampeg.

If I could ONLY choose between the two and HAD to carry my own cabs I'd probably go with the ampeg, but if the mini sounds as good as the 1210 and weighs less than my aggie I might switch over to schoeder.

I'll post a post-gig review with the aguilars tomorrow or early next week.

 

Well, I played the schroeder 1210 with my RBI/stewart rack. I played with the cab up against the back wall, turned on end so the 10" is kinda pointed towards the ground figuring the reflection off of the inside board would reflect back up towards me.

Initially it seems leaner, in a good way, than the aguilar gs112s I normally play. not as much stage rattle, but the "hollowness" or "twang" that I thought I would be concerned about was actually VERY GOOD to help my bass sound fit into the whole frequency spectrum of the band. I could have goosed the bass a little more, I wish I was running the EDEN, the midrange was smoother than on the aguilars as far as I could tell.

I will play with it some more tonight before I go home and tomorrow try the cab flat on the floor and then switch back to the aguilars for second church service sunday morning for comparison.

 

I think I'll just keep going on and on ..... I hope this is helping someone, I'd hate to bable for no good reason

played tonight after church for about two hours, just me and the cabs.

Some other "things" to factor in when evaluating or responding to my "review": I'm using a modified rickenbacker 1978 with replacement seymour duncan pickups which supposidly give the guitar a heavier bottom. I also prefer a somewhat scooped sound in general, but admit that mids are necessary for good cut-through on stage....

That being said I have some more compare and contrasts between the Schroeder 1210 and my two Aguilar GS112s (actually one is a "nt" no tweeter version).

Playing the cabs solo without a band or other music to compete with I found myself really longing for the fuller sound of the aguilars. one thing I didn't do during practice or preformance was to sneak out front and hear the cab (1210) from a distance (about 12'). The 1210 sounded considerably "twangier" than the aguilars set to the same eq (duh?), but with the RBI I was not able to remove enough of the "twang" to make it sound o.k. , to me, out front. If I had the EDEN wt300 with me, my coworker took it back until I can pay him , I might have a better time finding that frequency with the parametric eq . I also tried playing the cab with the other end up and play it horizontal. It does effect how the mids coming from the 10" are dispersed. again maybe the aguilars are more bassy because they lay flat on the floor and the 1210 has four large rubber feet (might lessen the bass transmition to the floor).

still leaning in favor of the aggies overall.

 

ok, you might have seen this coming...

In the end I still like the aguilars compared to the schroeder 1210.

Mainly considering the tone or voicing of the cabs. I can appreciate the schroeder tone for band situations, but not for solo, at least with my rickenbacker and rbi/stewart setup. The extra weight is secondary to my choice, but would be a factor if I had to actually make a choice between two aguilars (42 + 37 Lbs) VS. one schroeder 1210 (one lift of 58 Lbs). Just from the house to car alone was almost too much for my back (about 50ft). I heard one person actually has a 26 LB "mini" schroeder that would be even better, if I like the voicing.

sorry, got off track there... so, overall, at least for this model of schroeder its not for me, but I'm still VERY IMPRESSED with the voicing of the cab in a band situation. it cuts through with less futsing of the mids. I thought I might get tired of the low-mid bump eventually, but thats what help it cut through, I think.

Pros: very loud for 12+10 cab, nice cut through voicing, VERY well built, 10 yr warranty. nice padded cab cover.

Cons: solo sound and "out front" sound not as pleasing to me as aguilar gs112s, low-mid bump might get irritating with certain guitars/amps, actual piece is 10 Lbs heavier than expected...almost 60 LBS.

EDIT: oh, I also played this morning WITHOUT my musicians earplugs to get a better "naked ear" impression of both cabs. as a result I think I heard more of the "twang" "low-mid bump" sound. and needed less tweeking of mids for the aguilars

As with any piece of equipment I'd suggest trying schroeder out thoroughly with your guitar and equipment and also on a gig if possible.